Jindo , South Korea -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Through the unrelenting rain , with the biting winds whipping against her tear-stained face , Christine Kim stands on the cold , gray harbor .

`` Inside that water , '' she says , pointing to the choppy waves on the Yellow Sea , `` there are children whom I teach and my own child . ''

Kim is an English teacher at a private tutoring center . Some of her students were aboard the Sewol headed to the resort island of Jeju when the passenger ferry listed and sank .

Twenty people were confirmed dead , and 276 were still missing early Friday , according to the South Korean Ministry of Security and Public Administration . One of them is Kim 's youngest daughter .

`` My daughter 's in the water , '' Kim said , her voice breaking .

Regret

When the school trip came up at the Anson Daewon High School , her daughter , Billy , was initially reluctant . The family had taken a visit to Jeju less than two months earlier . She did n't want to go on a four-day trip .

`` I do n't want to go there because I went there one time , '' her daughter told her .

Kim convinced her otherwise .

`` I think this travel would be a great experience for your school days , '' she recalls telling her .

So , Tuesday night , Billy boarded the ferry .

The next morning , shortly before 9 a.m. , students heard a loud bang and the ship began to list .

Some jumped into the frigid water and were rescued . Others have not been heard from .

`` All of this , '' Kim laments , `` happened because of me . ''

Sadness

Throughout the night Wednesday and into Thursday , family members have camped out at the Paeng Mok Harbor , about 20 kilometers -LRB- 12 miles -RRB- from where the ship capsized .

They sit on plastic chairs , huddled together for warmth with blankets on their shoulders . They 're handed coffee cups and instant noodles as they stand vigil . Mothers and grandmothers cry and console each other .

One elderly man sits on a chair -- his cell phone in his hands , his hands clasped together as if in prayer .

All of them waiting for answers , hoping for a sign .

`` It 's been almost 30 hours , '' Kim says . `` I ca n't sleep because my daughter 's in the water , in the cold , cold water -- I can never sleep . ''

Anger

After the accident , local media lit up with reports of text messages they said were from passengers . In one , a passenger describes women screaming in the darkness . In another , a father learns his child is trapped . In a third , a son , fearing death , tells his mother he loves her .

They have n't been authenticated . But they are reason enough for some parents to believe more survivors will be found .

The parents here are angry that officials are n't taking the messages seriously .

`` We 're getting texts from our children from the boat , but they do n't believe us , '' Kim said .

Kim is n't alone in pointing the finger at the South Korean government . It has failed to expend all necessary efforts to rescue the students , she says .

Rescue officials say they are at the mercy of the elements . It 's drizzling , making for poor visibility . The water currents are powerful , making for dangerous operations .

Three divers who took it upon themselves to go look for the missing were momentarily swept away by the tide Thursday . A fishing boat eventually picked them up .

The massive rescue efforts has included 169 boats , 29 planes and 512 divers . Crews will next bring in cranes to stabilize the ship .

`` The families must be so heartbroken , I know it 's hard , '' South Korean president Park Geun-hye said after touring the accident site Thursday .

`` Please , '' she told rescuers , `` I urge you , do your best . ''

Chang Min , whose second-grade son is among the missing , says he 's willing to trust the government `` one last time .
But Kim is critical .

`` The government is doing nothing for us , as our children are drowning , '' she says .

Hope

The despondent mother breaks into a smile when she talks about how Billy came to pick such a typically American boy 's name for herself .

She loved goats when she was little . So she decided to call herself one .

Billy promised her mom she would bring back some delicious snacks from Jeju .

She waits for her daughter .

Freelancer Kim Jung Eun contributed to this article .

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Kim convinced her daughter to make the trip

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`` All of this happened because of me , '' she says

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Parents are holding vigil in a harbor

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Many are angry that officials are n't doing enough